# Rat or mouse? N.A.F. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489 "2010-02-18T17:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/1 "2010-02-18T17:24:03Z")
can anyone help with a discussion me and my sister are having? I say Mouse she says Rat [http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/willthekitten/sdmb/?action=view¤t=ratormouse.jpg](http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/willthekitten/sdmb/?action=view¤t=ratormouse.jpg) euhm …and no I’m not talking about the cat ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/2 "2010-02-18T17:27:52Z")
Young rat. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/3 "2010-02-18T17:31:00Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Young rat. okay…how can you tell? ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/4 "2010-02-18T17:34:11Z")
Yeah, that’s way too big to be a mouse, at least where I live. It’s possible they grow them bigger where you are. However, it almost looks like there’s fur on the tail from here. That indicates something more like a gerbil (or Kangaroo Rat, roughly the same thing in the wild), which would also be bigger than a mouse: mice and rats generally have bare tails, in my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/5 "2010-02-18T17:41:12Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Yeah, that’s way too big to be a mouse, at least where I live. It’s possible they grow them bigger where you are. > > However, it almost looks like there’s fur on the tail from here. That indicates something more like a gerbil (or Kangaroo Rat, roughly the same thing in the wild), which would also be bigger than a mouse: mice and rats generally have bare tails, in my understanding. location Amsterdam, so it might be a mouse on drugs? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/6 "2010-02-18T17:42:34Z")
That’s a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/7 "2010-02-18T17:48:20Z")
As far as I remember, the easiest way to determine if it is a rat or a mouse is by the shape of the head. Mice have a triangular head with a distinct pointed end. Rat heads are blunter and more rounded. ETA: I think it is a large mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/8 "2010-02-18T18:11:03Z")
The short, skinny tail, face shape, and large head in relation to the body all make me say mouse. I’ve seen quite a few mice that large. Here are some [similar](http://www.naturfoto-cz.de/brown-rat:rattus-norvegicus-photo-6663.html) [looking](http://www.naturfoto-cz.de/brown-rat:rattus-norvegicus-photo-2982.html) rats. The tail is longer and thicker, and even in the second photo where the body is scrunched up, you can see the head is much smaller proportionally than your guy’s. Now, here’s a [similar](http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/caribbean/wildlife-facts/2008/wildlife-facts-january-2008.shtml)looking mouse. Short skinny tail, big head on smaller body, and so on. Could be your guy’s brother. Definitely a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/9 "2010-02-18T18:24:29Z")
A little on the large side for a mouse, but not extraordinarily so. So I guess the kitten survived, then? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/10 "2010-02-18T18:25:08Z")
Google image results for “young rat”: [http://www.abcomplete.co.uk/photos/youngrat.jpg](http://www.abcomplete.co.uk/photos/youngrat.jpg) You tell me. ETA: it’s the feet that give it way for me - too big for a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/11 "2010-02-18T18:28:33Z")
Great username/OP combo. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/12 "2010-02-18T18:30:11Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Great username/OP combo. thnx:) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/13 "2010-02-18T18:30:13Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > As far as I remember, the easiest way to determine if it is a rat or a mouse is by the shape of the head. Mice have a triangular head with a distinct pointed end. Rat heads are blunter and more rounded. What if your cat ate the head? When one of my cats caught a mouse, I found a dead mouse with no head. Evidently someone thinks the head is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/14 "2010-02-18T18:35:40Z")
Here’s a convenient page. Look at “young rat versus adult mice”: [http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm#TellApart](http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm#TellApart) The relative paw size is another pointer. Looking at that, I tend to agree that it’s a big mouse. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/15 "2010-02-18T19:01:01Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Here’s a convenient page. Look at “young rat versus adult mice”: > > [http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm#TellApart](http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm#TellApart) > > The relative paw size is another pointer. Looking at that, I tend to agree that it’s a big mouse. Reading that list of criteria, it sounds more like rat to me. Thick-ish tail that appears to be (though it’s hard to tell) shorter than the body and big paws. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/16 "2010-02-18T19:02:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Reading that list of criteria, it sounds more like rat to me. Thick-ish tail that appears to be (though it’s hard to tell) shorter than the body and big paws. Perhaps. It’s sort of indeterminate. I could accept either. ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/17 "2010-02-18T19:20:30Z")
Young rat. Big feet, thick tail, wide muzzle and rounded head. Mice have daintier features. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/18 "2010-02-19T04:34:13Z")
I recommend this book > **[Mouse Or Rat? : Translation as Negotiation: Amazon.co.uk: Eco, Prof Umberto:...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mouse-Rat-Translation-as-Negotiation/dp/0753817985)** > > Buy Mouse Or Rat? : Translation as Negotiation 1 by Eco, Prof Umberto (ISBN: 9780753817988) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/19 "2010-02-19T13:49:55Z")
It’s definitely a rodent. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489/20 "2010-02-19T14:18:50Z")
I’ve seen plenty of big mice and juvenile rats and this looks like the latter not the former. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rat-or-mouse-n-a-f/529489.md?page=2)